Griner's dunk, Taurasi's OT explosion help Mercury even ...

Brittney Griner dunked while scoring 29 points, Diana Taurasi had eight of her 20 points in overtime and the Phoenix Mercury evened the WNBA ... Griner'sdunk,Taurasi'sOTexplosionhelpMercuryevenWNBAFinalsagainstSky|CBCSportsLoadedBasketball·SERIESTIED1-1Griner'sdunk,Taurasi'sOTexplosionhelpMercuryevenWNBAFinalsagainstSkyBrittneyGrinerdunkedwhilescoring29points,DianaTaurasihadeightofher20pointsinovertimeandthePhoenixMercuryevenedtheWNBAFinalswitha91-86winovertheChicagoSkyonWednesdaynightinGame2.SocialSharingPhoenixbouncesbackforwinafterChicago'styingbasketindyingsecondsofregulationJohnMarshall·TheAssociatedPress·Posted:Oct13,202111:47PMET|LastUpdated:October14Phoenix'sSkylarDiggins-Smith,right,celebratesnexttoChicago'sAllieQuigleyduringthesecondhalfoftheMercury's91-86Gam2OTvictoryovertheSkyintheWNBAFinalsonWednesday.(ChristianPetersen/GettyImages)commentsDianaTaurasispentmostofthenightbeinghoundedbyChicago'sAllieQuigley,anexhaustingexerciseinanalready-toughgame,particularlyfora39-year-old.AsGame2oftheWNBAFinalswoundtowardatightfinish,thePhoenixMercurylookedtotheplayerrecentlynamedthegreatestintheWNBA's25-yearhistory.AnyonewhoknowsanythingaboutTaurasiknowswhathappenednext.Summoningthewillthat'smadehergreatforsolong,Taurasiscoredeightofher20pointsinovertimetohelptheMercuryevenedtheWNBAFinalsat1-allwitha91-86winovertheSkyonWednesdaynight."That'stheGOATrightthere,"saidMercurycentreBrittneyGriner,whodunkedandhad29points."Weknowtimeisgoingdown,it'scrunchtime,wehaveallthefaithintheworldshe'sgoingtomakebigshotsforus."WATCH|Griner'sdunkignitesMercury:BrittneyGrinerthrowsdowndunkduringGame2ofWNBAFinals3monthsagoDuration0:29PhoenixMercurycentreBrittneyGrinerwithaslamdunkagainsttheChicagoSkyduringthefirstquarterofGame2oftheWNBAFinals.0:29GrinercarriedtheMercuryearlyandbroughtthePhoenixSunsplayerssittingcourtsidetotheirfeetwithhersecondcareerplayoffdunkinthefirstquarter.ShescoredonaturnaroundjumptohelpgivePhoenixalatefour-pointleadinregulation,butjustmissedblockingCourtneyVandersloot'styinglayupwith4.4secondsleft.OvertimeisTaurasitimeandtheleague'sall-timeleadingscorerdidwhatshedoesbest.Heldtosixpointsthroughthreequarters,sheopenedovertimewithafour-pointplayandaddeda3-pointerthatputPhoenixup89-86with1:24left.Taurasithencameupwithahugedefensiveplay,gettingastealwith36secondsleft,andSkylarDiggins-Smithsealeditonalayupwith12.8secondsleft."Whenyou'reinthatmoment,thegravityofwhat'sgoingon,youcanfeelitandyoutrytojustlaserinoneachpossession,eachtimeout,reallycommunicatingwitheachother,"Taurasisaid.WATCH|MercuryoutlastSkyinOT:MercuryevenWNBAFinalswithovertimevictoryoverSky3monthsagoDuration0:49PhoenixbeatsChicago91-86inovertimetotietheWNBAFinalsat1-1.0:49ChicagobackedupitsGame1winwithanotherstrongoffensiveperformance,yetcouldn'tfinishitoff.Vandersloothitsomebigshotswhilescoring20pointsandfinishedwith14assists.AllieQuigleyadded19points.Game3isFridayinChicago."Wehavealotofweaponsandwhentheytakeoneaway,wehavetobeconfidentandmoveit(theball),"saidChicago'sCandaceParker,whohad13pointsandninerebounds."Wedidthatearly,butweneedaconsistent40or45minutesofmovingit."AthletesUnlimitedannouncesnewwomen'sprobasketballleagueChicagoovercamesomeearlyjittersandtookadvantageoftheshort-handedandfatiguedtowinGame191-77.Parkerwasacalminginfluencewhilescoring16pointsandKahleahCopperscored21points.PhoenixwaswithoutguardsKiaNurse(tornACL)andSophieCunningham(calf),andhadtoplaytwodaysafterclinchingitssemifinalseriesinLasVegas.TheMercuryhadmorepreptimeandCunninghambackinthelineupaftermissingthreegames,butwasdisjointedearly.WATCH|SkyrolltoGame1win:SkyblowoutMercuryinGame1ofWNBAFinals3monthsagoDuration0:33KahleahCopperledChicagowith21pointsandtenreboundsenroutetotheir91-77victoryoverPhoenixtotakea1-0leadintheWNBAFinals.0:33Chicago,oneoftheWNBA'stopoffensiveteams,wasatitsfree-flowingbest,itscrisppassingsettingupopenlooks.TheSkyknocked'emdownearly,hitting7oftheirfirst12shotstotakeanearlynine-pointlead.PhoenixwenttoGrinerearlyandoften.The6-foot-9centre deliveredwithanearlydunkaftertheSkyinexplicablyleftheraloneinthelane,bringingtheSunsplayerstotheirfeet,andhad14pointsbyhalftime.Cunninghamhitapairof3-pointerstobringtheMercurybackfromtheearlydeficitandhitanotherafterawickedcrossovertohelpPhoenixpullevenat40-allathalftime."Weputherinthestartinglineup,wejustthoughtthatwastherightwayforustostartwithourrotationsandtheenergythatshebrings,"MercurycoachSandyBrondellosaid."Shewasgreatforus."Chicagorevvedupitsoffenceagaintostartthethirdquarter,buildingaseven-pointlead.PhoenixcounteredbygettingtheballbackintoGrinertohelptheMercurysurgebackintotheleadinthefourthquarter.ThenitwasTaurasi'sturn.CBC'sJournalisticStandardsandPractices|AboutCBCSportsReportTypoorError|CorrectionsandClarificationsRelatedStoriesSkytakecommandingwinoverMercuryinGame1ofWNBAfinalsAthletesUnlimitedannouncesnewwomen'sprobasketballleagueCanadianbasketballstarKiaNurseoutforseasonwithtornACLinrightkneeProwomen'sleague,femaleheadcoachonThomaidis'wishlistforCanadawomen'sbasketballMERCURYWIN3-2MercurysoartoWNBAFinalsbehindDianaTaurasi'sclutch4thquarterWNBASEMIFINALSSkycompleteupsetoftop-seededSuntobooktickettoWNBAFinalsAddsome“good”toyourmorningandevening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